Major League Baseball and the Fort Worth Sports Commission have announced that the opening night of the 2024 MLB Draft will be held Sunday, July 14 at the Cowtown Coliseum in the Fort Worth Stockyards.
The draft will be open to the public and coincides with 2024 MLB All-Star Week events in Arlington, Fort Worth and the North Texas region from July 12–16. The 94th Midsummer Classic will be at Globe Life Field on July 16, marking the second All-Star Game to be hosted by the Texas Rangers following the 1995 All-Star Game at The Ballpark in Arlington.
“Hosting an event of this caliber is a defining moment for our city,” said Jason Sands, executive director of the Fort Worth Sports Commission. “This event provides us with a unique platform to showcase the vibrant sports culture and hospitality of Fort Worth to baseball fans across the nation.”
In addition to the draft, All-Star Week events include three major youth sports events: the All-Star Commissioner’s Cup youth baseball tournament, the HBCU Swingman Classic powered by the MLB-MLBPA Youth Development Foundation and the Jennie Finch Classic youth softball tournament. Fans can also attend the All-Star Futures Game and Celebrity Softball Game on July 13, the T-Mobile Home Run Derby on July 15 and the All-Star Game presented by Mastercard on July 16.
“Fort Worth and Arlington are powerhouses for hosting major sporting events together,” said Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker. “I am thrilled that our cities are partnering to welcome the 2024 MLB All-Star Week to the region. It is an honor to kick off the MLB Draft in Fort Worth’s Historic Stockyards, an entertainment district unlike anywhere else in the country. Visiting baseball fans will get to experience the unexpected sights, sounds and flavors that are truly Texas.”
The Cowtown Coliseum, the world’s first indoor rodeo arena which was built in 1908, will be the backdrop for the Major League Baseball Draft.
“We are proud to welcome the opening day of the MLB Draft at the historic Cowtown Coliseum in the Fort Worth Stockyards,” said Craig Cavileer, managing partner of Stockyards Heritage Development Co. “As home to the first indoor rodeo in America and having hosted entertainment icons including Elvis Presley, to think that some 125 years later, the Coliseum would be home to the 2024 MLB Draft is amazing.”